One of the most beautiful children I met in Haiti was Josseline.  I had planned to write about Josseline's story but my friend Tracy just published a beautiful post about this precious little girl here.  In short, Josseline is a restavek or, as defined by Americans, a slave.  A beautiful, innocent, angel-faced slave, with a heart of gold.
   

I have had every intention of writing much more about my experiences in Neply but I just can't seem to find words eloquent enough to describe it.  I plan to write a day-to-day overview of the trip but there are so many other things that I want to share first. 

Of all of the memories that I brought home with me from Haiti, the most precious ones are of the time I spent with the sweet children of the village.  Not only are Haitian children absolutely beautiful, they have such a curious demeanor.  Everywhere we went, we would usually end up with a group of kiddos tagging along.  Sometimes they were clothed and sometimes they weren't.  Sometimes they were hungry. And dirty. 

I immediately found myself burdened by the circumstances that these children face. 

Then I had a realization.  Who was I really feeling sorry for? 

I began to think about the needs and wants of American children compared to the needs and wants of Haitian children.  Do Haitian children want iPads, iPhones, or expensive gaming systems for Christmas?  Of course they don't.  They want clothes to wear, shoes for their feet, and a hot meal in their tummies.  Their basic needs aren't always met, yet their blessings are many. 

I soon realized that it is my child that I should feel burdened for.  My child, who will grow up in a nation where excess equals happiness and material posessions define one's character.  After all, it's my child who will be forced to experience the phenomenon of the "haves" and "have nots" and who will have to suffer a lifetime of disappointment at the hands of a generation plagued by entitlement. 




   

I know that many of you were expecting a post about Haiti as soon as I returned home. It has taken me a few days to process through the whole experience, though.  I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!

Wow!  What an adventure.  If I'm being honest with myself, my trip to Neply was everything that I thought it would be and nothing that I could have ever imagined.  It was one of the most humbling yet joyful weeks of my life. The people of Neply (and the staff of myLIFEspeaks) taught me more about life than 28 years worth of experience ever did.

Our trip started out rather eventful. After leaving the airport and finding ourselves in the midst of overzealous baggage handlers, we loaded the bus and headed out for the 25 mile drive to Neply through the very congested streets of Port Au Prince (y'all, Dallas traffic ain't got nothin' on Haitian drivers). 





After about an hour, our bus driver realized that something was terribly wrong with our bus.  As it turns out, both of the left back tires were flat.  In case your were wondering, NTB and Discount Tire do not exist in Haiti.  Several hours, 2 broken four-way tools, and $150 later, our crew was headed to Neply via the back of a Tap Tap (also known in the USA as a dump truck!). 

Once we arrived at the myLIFEspeaks house, all was right with the world.  We filled our tummies with beef stew, settled our bunks, and shared our expectations for the week. 

As I laid my weary head down that first night, I remember thinking about a time in my life when I let fear keep me from doing things that I needed to do.  So, I said a simple prayer, thanking God for giving me the strength to step out of my comfort zone, and fell asleep with these words, from Brooke Fraser's song Hosea's Wife, playing quietly in my head:

Well, here it is.  Blog number 2.  And, guess what? I paid for it.

While I had really great intentions of becoming a famous blogger (#Kelly'sKorner, #Mckmama), It just wasn't in the cards for me, I guess.  Who knew?  Anyways, I just couldn't ever get the creative juices flowing, especially since my old blog was so drab.  It took  me 4 years to finally realize that there is skill required to design your own blog...ahem, Heather. 

Thank goodness for people like Tricia who was able to deal with my indecisive, Idontreallyknowwhatimdoing attitude to create the wonderful web space that is All She Wrote.  Hopefully, this will keep me inspired to write more than once every 4 years.  After all, I paid for it!

So now that you know everything there is to know about my journey to blogging, here are a few of our recent family pictures, taken by the lovely Allison Harp,  to take up some more space until I feel inspired enough to write about something else.

Enjoy!

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